Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Yet God Is My King
A [a]Maskil of Asaph.
74 Why, O God? Have You (A)rejected us forever?
Why does Your anger (B)smoke against the (C)sheep of Your [b]pasture?
2 Remember Your congregation, which You have (D)purchased of old,
Which You have (E)redeemed to be the (F)tribe of Your inheritance;
And this Mount (G)Zion, where You have dwelt.
3 Lift up Your steps toward the (H)perpetual ruins;
The enemy (I)has damaged everything within the sanctuary.
4 Your adversaries have (J)roared in the midst of Your meeting place;
They have set up their (K)own signs (L)for signs.
5 Each seems like one who lifts up
[c]An (M)axe against the undergrowth of trees.
6 And now its (N)carved work altogether
They smash with hatchet and [d]hammers.
7 They have (O)set Your sanctuary on fire;
By bringing it to the ground, they have (P)defiled the dwelling place of Your name.
8 They (Q)said in their heart, “Let us [e]completely [f]subdue them.”
They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
9 We do not see our (R)signs;
There is (S)no longer any prophet,
Nor is there any among us who knows (T)how long.
10 How long, O God, will the adversary (U)reproach?
Will the enemy (V)spurn Your name forever?
11 Why (W)do You turn back Your hand, even Your right hand?
From within Your bosom, (X)destroy them!
12 Yet God is (Y)my King from of old,
Who works deeds of [g]salvation in the midst of the earth.
13 You (Z)divided the sea by Your strength;
You (AA)broke the heads of the (AB)sea monsters [h]in the waters.
14 You crushed the heads of [i](AC)Leviathan;
You gave him as food for the [j]creatures (AD)of the desert.
15 [k]You (AE)split open spring and river;
[l]You (AF)dried up ever-flowing rivers.
16 Yours is the day, Yours also is the night;
[m]You have (AG)established the [n]light and the sun.
17 [o]You have (AH)caused all the boundaries of the earth to stand firm;
[p]You have formed (AI)summer and winter.
18 Remember this, O Yahweh, that the enemy has (AJ)reproached,
And a (AK)wickedly foolish people has spurned Your name.
19 Do not deliver the soul of Your (AL)turtledove to the wild beast;
(AM)Do not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.
20 Look to the (AN)covenant;
For the (AO)dark places of the land are full of the haunts of violence.
21 Let not the (AP)oppressed return dishonored;
Let the (AQ)afflicted and needy praise Your name.
Woes to Those Who Call Evil Good
8 Woe to those who (A)add house to house and join field to field,
Until there is no more room,
So that you have to live alone in the midst of the land!
9 In my ears Yahweh of hosts has sworn, “Surely, (B)many houses shall become (C)desolate,
Even great and good ones, without inhabitants.
10 For (D)ten [a]acres of vineyard will yield only one [b]bath of wine,
And a [c](E)homer of seed will yield but an [d]ephah of grain.”
11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning that they may pursue (F)strong drink,
Who stay up late in the evening that wine may inflame them!
12 And their banquets are accompanied by lyre and (G)harp, by tambourine and flute, and by wine;
But they (H)do not look upon the deeds of Yahweh,
Nor do they see the work of His hands.
13 Therefore My people go into exile for their (I)lack of knowledge;
And [e]their (J)honorable men are famished,
And their multitude is parched with thirst.
14 Therefore (K)Sheol has enlarged its [f]throat and opened its mouth without limit;
And [g]Jerusalem’s majesty, her multitude, her rumbling, and the exultant within her, descend into it.
15 So the common man will be bowed down and the man of importance will be made low,
(L)The eyes of the lofty also will be made low.
16 But (M)Yahweh of hosts will be (N)lofty in judgment,
And the holy God will show Himself (O)holy in righteousness.
17 (P)Then the lambs will graze as in their pasture,
And sojourners will eat in the waste places of the [h]wealthy.
18 Woe to those who drag (Q)iniquity with the cords of worthlessness,
And sin as if with cart ropes,
19 (R)Who say, “Let Him hurry, let Him hasten His work, that we may see it;
And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near
And come to pass, that we may know it!”
20 Woe to those who (S)call evil good and good evil,
Who [i](T)substitute darkness for light and light for darkness,
Who [j]substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
21 Woe to those who are (U)wise in their own eyes
And understanding in their own [k]sight!
22 (V)Woe to those who are mighty men in drinking wine
And valiant men in mixing strong drink,
23 (W)Who [l]declare the wicked righteous for a bribe,
And (X)remove the [m]righteous standing of the ones who are [n]righteous!
Test the Spirits
4 (A)Beloved, do not believe every (B)spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because (C)many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: (D)every spirit that (E)confesses that (F)Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that (G)does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the (H)antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and (I)now it is already in the world. 4 You are from God, (J)little children, and (K)have overcome them; because (L)greater is He who is in you than (M)he who is in the world. 5 (N)They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world hears them. 6 (O)We are from God. (P)The one who knows God hears us; (Q)the one who is not from God does not hear us. From this we know (R)the spirit of truth and (S)the spirit of error.
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.